The Blink of an Eye
by William Logan
Summary: Clarice Ferguson is a mutant living on the streets in complete solitude, the only thing she owns are the clothes on her back, however, this all changes when she is rescued from a mob by Sabretooth. (More to come, based loosely on AoA Blink's backstory)
1. Feral Savior

Disclaimer: X-Men and all related names are the trademarks of Marvel Entertainment, Inc.  
  
Author's Note: Yes, I have finally gotten back to writing up stories... graduation is coming up, so I should have even more time to do it then. :)  
  
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"The Blink of an Eye"  
By William Logan  
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Chapter One: Feral Savior  
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Clarice Ferguson ran. The heat was beginning to get to her in the black jeans and dark green hoodie she wore, but the last thing she wanted to risk was anyone else seeing her face. The mob of students from the high school she had lived near had already seen her... and letting that happen had been her first mistake. Tears rolled down her soft light purple cheeks, sliding out of eyes that glowed a brilliant shade of green. If only she'd been born differently, she might very well have been going to the high school that these students were currently chasing her away from, but that wasn't the case. She was simply born unlucky, she thought to herself, trying to concentrate enough to open a portal in front of her, for that was her gift as a mutant... teleportation through rifts in normal space she opened up, but it required tremendous concentration for her to do it without hurting herself. Concentration was something she couldn't afford at this time.  
  
"Get the mutie freak!" she heard a voice cry from behind as she tried to flee into the woods near the school, ended up tripping over her own two feet and tumbling a few feet. The mob was closer now, she looked up, the hood of her sweatshirt falling back, revealing the face of the terrified sixteen year old girl. Dark pink strands of sweat soaked hair obscured parts of her face, she didn't run anymore, she accepted the inevitable, sniffling as she gazed at the hateful faces.  
  
"Don't hurt me... please," she squeaked weakly.  
  
"Don't worry," said a boy with dark, close-trimmed hair, "we'll be humane." His friend handed him a baseball bat, which he twirled about in his hand. There were mixed murmurs from the students, some of them began to draw closer, others fell back in fear. There were no teachers to be seen, yet, and Clarice wondered if the adults would harm or help, anyway. One girl ran up, trying to plead for Clarice's case, but she was pushed roughly away. Things were happening so quickly, she couldn't concentrate, she merely repeated, in the same weak voice, "Please... no... don't..." The boy brought the bat up and Clarice tried to scramble backwards, a cry escaping her lips. But the cry was never heard, not over the tremendous roaring that shook the very air. She saw all of the students stumble backwards and begin running. Her head twisted almost too quickly towards to woods, where she saw the most enormous man she had ever seen standing before her, long blonde hair blowing in the breeze. His teeth were bared, showing canines as sharp as the tips of Clarice's own strange ears.  
  
"Are... are you going to hurt me?" Clarice stammered, every syllable of the words repeating several times before the sentence was complete. She sniffled again, wiping her eyes with slender, purple fingers.  
  
"No," the man replied, "I'm here to save you." There was something in his voice that Clarice didn't entirely trust, something sarcastic, but she owed her life to this man. Even with her astounding mutant powers, she hadn't learned the control she had needed to get herself out of the situation. She leaped up and wrapped her arms around the man, beginning to cry again. There was only a soft grunt of surprise then a growl of distaste in reply. She immediately withdrew herself from the man and he looked down at her, into those glowing green eyes filled with tears, "Stop cryin', kid... follow me." He began to stalk off into the forest without another word. Clarice saw no other choice but to follow the man, and as she followed him, stammered out another sentence.  
  
"S-so what... what c-c-can I call you?" She studied him, "I'm C-C-C-Clarice."  
  
"Name's Victor Creed... most people call me Sabretooth. I don't much care what you call me, in fact, I'd prefer if you didn't call me anything. Don't much like talking to kids," he snarled. It sounded to her like someone had told him to try to be friendly, but he wasn't very good at it. Still, there was something about him that Clarice trusted, and it was the first time that she had ever felt that.  
  
"Thank you, Mister Creed," she murmured, "no one has ever stood up for me like that. It means so much, thank you... you saved my life..." she was about to launch into another round of thank you's when she was silenced by shock. Before her, in a forest clearing, was an enormous metal dome. She couldn't even begin to imagine how large it was, the fact simply was that it was the biggest thing she had ever seen. "What's that, Mister Creed?"  
  
"Home," was his simple answer... it was a word completely foreign to the girl, at least in true meaning. She smiled a bit, muttering it to herself, "home"... it would be the first one she'd ever had.  
  
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To Be Continued  
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	2. The Assignment

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Chapter Two: The Assignment  
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It had been about a week since Clarice had arrived at her new home, the nameless base belonging to Magneto and his Acolytes. It had taken a while for her to adjust to the concept of not having to hide her face, with the strange dark purple markings over her glowing green eyes, and her light purple skin, dark pink hair, and elegantly pointed ears. If people had really looked at her, not just as a mutant, they would have noticed that she was actually quite beautiful, because of her differences, not in spite of them. She stood in front of the mirror in her room now, tying a few small braids in her hair, which fell to the middle of her back. The accommodations were rather spartan, with a cot, a bare metal floor, a mirror, and a closet in each room, however, for someone who was used to sleeping on the ground in the forest, it was perfect. What was more, Magneto had been trying to encourage her to use her powers, telling her that she needed to tap her full potential. She was never sure just what he meant by that, but she was glad that for once in her life she was actually being accepted for what she was. As she finished the second braid she had been tying, a knock came on the door.  
  
"Come in," she said softly, and the door slid open, revealing the always gruff Sabretooth.  
  
"Time for chow, runt," he growled.  
  
"Wait," she said, standing from her seat in front of the mirror, showing him the clothes Magneto had presented to her: a dark green dress, form fitting at the top, with a wide strip of cloth running down to her ankles on either side of her lower body, leaving her pale purple legs uncovered. He had called it her new "uniform," although she didn't quite understand what he meant by that. "What do you think, Mister Creed?" she asked, her eyes sparkling a bit, placing her slender fingers on the red belt around her waist. The large, blonde-haired man grunted.  
  
"Great, just great, come on before it gets cold..." he muttered as he headed down the hall. Clarice followed behind him, looking not unlike a puppy following its master. She still had a hard time believing that anyone would ever do anything like Mister Creed had done, and she was truly grateful, although Sabretooth had made it clear that he wanted nothing whatsoever to do with her gratitude. They entered the dining hall, which was all at once spartan and regal. All the surfaces were perfectly polished metal, so that wherever Clarice looked she could see her reflection. She slid quietly into a chair at one end of the table, near Sabretooth and Pyro, and at the far end of the enormous banquet table, sitting at the head, like a king upon his steel throne, was Magneto. Everyone exchanged brief pleasantries and began eating, some more politely than others at the table. By the end, everyone's plates were cleared, then moved away by Magneto's telekinetic control over magnetic fields. Seeing objects floating about in thin air as though suspended by wires was not something Clarice had entirely grown accustomed to yet.  
  
"A matter has been brought to my attention," Magneto spoke, his voice echoing off of the metal walls, giving it a very unearthly feel once it finally reached the ears of the collected Acolytes. Mastermind, Gambit, Colossus, Pyro, Sabretooth, and Clarice all turned their heads, giving the man their complete attention, "a matter which I feel must be dealt with in an... extreme... manner." Clarice noticed that when Magneto said the word "extreme," Sabretooth bared his teeth with a feral grin, a low growl coming from the back of his throat. It was the first time since she had arrived here that Mister Creed had truly frightened her.  
  
"Need us to whack someone, boss?" Sabretooth asked, a murderous gleam in his eyes.  
  
"Nothing quite so extreme, Sabretooth... your aggression will be needed in this mission, however, not to that extent. Next week, there is to be a Senate hearing to discuss the possibility of forcing mutants to register themselves with the government... so that the powers that be may keep close tabs on all of us." Magneto leaned forward in his chair, his gray eyes shining in the light of the room, "we will demonstrate to them that mutants will not be held back by any such foolish laws. Laws applying to humanity do not apply to us. We are the future, gods in comparison to the foolish human vermin. Are there any questions?" All at the table were silent. Clarice shifted uncomfortably in her seat. This did not sound right to her, not in the least, but who was she to question the people who had saved her from certain death. She saw Magneto rise from his chair and begin walking along the table towards her. She felt her blood grow chill, her face turning to an even lighter shade of pale purple. "Are you uncomfortable, my dear child?" Magneto asked as he came to her chair, resting a strong, gauntleted hand on her shoulder. Clarice wasn't entirely sure whether it felt like he was trying to reassure her or was threatening to snap her collarbone.  
  
"I-I am j-j-just afraid that I... I won't be much help," she stammered, lying, "the first time I used my powers was... was quite a disaster." It was nothing that she liked to talk about, but the first time that she ever used her powers, she had awakened hours later, laying in a puddle of blood. After that horrifying, traumatic experience, she had vowed to never use her powers against another living being.  
  
"The Acolytes and I will train you," Magneto said, "I know the nature of your powers... your amazing teleportation skills. I will help you tap their full potential, and from now on, you shall be known as Blink." She shivered again, involuntarily, disgusted with the idea of being forced to use her powers again, but if that's what she had to do to keep her new home, that was what she would do.  
  
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To Be Continued  
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End file.
